Fastcomm Patch antenna

[TrXtR]

www.fastcomm.co.za I just cant seem to find any of theire products?

Am I blind? but browsing around there all I can find is presentations. And well, I tried phoning, but they were planning to phone me back.

What does a patch antenna cost? And anyone have that link to it? I looked and couldnt find it

[AcidRaZor]

it's 250 for the one with the longer cable, shorter cable is 230

looks like they took the link off, or my ie is old (running 5 at this facility)

[TrXtR]

I ended up phoning them, theyre outa stock till 20 march or something like that

[AcidRaZor]

They're not out of stock. the stock doesn't exist yet...

Poynting is making customized antenna's for the MyWireless modem (the little antenna on the modem can clip off and has a standard IEEE802 connector, might be mistaken on the connector "802", so if you find an antenna that can handle the 2.5ghz range with that connector, you're set)

Poynting has 10000 patch antenna's schedule for delivery in the 2nd week of March, and depending when Fastcomm gets that stock, we'll be able to get it.

However, I for one am not driving through to Fastcomm or getting them to deliver the patch antenna to me... I'll rather take a 5 minute drive to Wynberg (JHB) and pick it up myself from Poynting.

Hope any info helped you... btw, I'd recommend getting the antenna anyway, it's directional and could help solve some problems... for instance, I might be out of the "spectrum" range of the tower, and because it was overcast the other night, I could connect... and that is why I can't connect now... thus, an antenna would be perfect

Especially if it gives you 22dbi gain, thats approx a 20% signal boost (speaking under correction)

Ciao

[TrXtR]

So anyone have some experience on making patch antenna's yet?

With the coffee tray thingy I bought it up from 6 to 8 ;) hehe
So what's next ?

But yeah, I reccon I'll buy the antenna when it comes out

[AcidRaZor]

where can i buy a tray like that.... :)

[TrXtR]

hehe, at mr price house and home ? :)

Check the post with JHBGirl, she ended up making a web-site
with all the different things they did to get it working.
6% < note percent hey ;) wasnt much

[TrXtR]

On second note, since I didnt have a long enough conversation with support last night, I did phone them again now.

They say that above 5% signal hsuould be sufficient to connect to the tower. And on interisting note, she mentioned putting the modem on paper can increase signal strength ;) haha this modem stuff cant stop to amaze me.

So I will again tonight try, and then I'm gonna hang on support till I get a deffinite yes or no. And If I get it working on some random chance ... this forum will start filling up big time ;)

One more thing about signal strength, It says I have a signal strength of let's say 8%. Does this mean in sending and receiving? or just receiving ?

Anyways ... praying for work to go over so I can go home and play around

[AcidRaZor]

should be sending and receiving

could you post that link (jhbgirl) to me plz?

[TrXtR]

Someone ... figuring it out...
http://www.myadsl.co.za/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1770&SearchTerms=signal

JhbGirl goes online with patch antenna thought
http://www.myadsl.co.za/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1796&SearchTerms=signal

the first link is perfect contains some minor information, including website with picture of JHBGirl...
's hand holding a pot with the wireless modem in it ;)

I must admit ... I tried a lid of a pot lastnight, genrally because of the shape.

My understanding is a good parabolic object can do it better if placed right (am I wrong?)

anyways ... enjoy playing with pots and pans (take pictures)

[AcidRaZor]

thanks

yes, a parabolic thingy would be perfect, you just need to find the centre point of it... it's like a satelite dish, the receiver is placed in the most concentrated area of the parabolic thingy

i r afrikaans yo [:o)]

[Jhbgirl]

Guys, the picture of the pot was posted as a joke :P I had a metal tray up behind the modem and that made an additional light go on, but it still didn't work. The antenna guy found a signal if front of my room, but I didn't buy the antenna because when he left I got a good enough signal in my room, to connect with. The external antenna they were going to put up would have made me R1500 poorer...
Btw, I've tried a beer box covered in tinfoil and that also boosted the signal, would you believe it. But anyway, I'm online now, no metal objects next to the modem...I think I have between 17 and 19% and four lights.

[AcidRaZor]

yea well, if 1.5k means I have a connection, kewl... i have a good enough signal, just can't connect without clouds :(

anyway, any specs on this antenna they wanted to put up? want me to buy one for you? you poor poor girl...

remember, web cams can make ALOT of money REAL quick

turn around on your investment would almost be instant ;)

[martin]

lol

[freeek]

noone, you one funny bastard ;)

..- dot dot dash ;)

[flashvc]

noone, this antenna connector..can you take a picture of it and post it?

If it's the same as the connector on either a DLink PCI, Samsung PCI or Lucent PCMCIA, then it got cables [:)]

A 2.4GHz Wifi antenna might be able to boost your signal since they have a frequency response of +- 2.4 to 2.5GHz (depending on antenna type)



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[AcidRaZor]

nope, no digital camera, let me go buy one first and i'll do that....

[TadMadLad]

ftp://ftp.uunet.co.za/pub/incoming/tadmadlad/Connector.jpg

i took this one a few days ago

[flashvc]

Cool, that looks the same as the connector on the Lucent Orinoco cards [:)]

My friend received his modem on Friday, but he went down to Durban for the weekend, will test the theory Monday [:D]

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[ProAsm]

The connector is a MMCX connector.

http://www.amphenolrf.com/products/mmcx.asp

[flashvc]

Yep, that's exactly the same as on the Orinocos, which means I've got a few "pigtails" [:D]

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[TrXtR]

Well rather interisting. The signal strength is only related to what the strength to the tower is, not both directions. I would nearly think this is a design flaw, in my opinion, if I'm doing bi-directional communication, I would want to know both ways signal.
Anyways, so I got up to 11% to tower ... nothing back.
Would these pig-tails help me ? flashvc you want to sell some ? :)

[flashvc]

Hi TrXtR,

In most cases of mobile wireless technologies, the basestations output is much higher than that of the mobile device. So it's really only the outgoing signal that's important in most cases. You cellphone also only displays one signal strength...

The pigtail is just the little cable to connect the device up to an external antenna. Most antennas use the SMA or N-Type connectors and not the MMCX connector. So you'd still require an antenna [;)]

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[TrXtR]

Bah, bêêêê, I feel like sheep in the city ;)
I'm gonna go sleep close to kingsley tower with a laptop.
Who needs a home when you have MyWireless ;) hehe
So if anyone can give me a specific date on zita park tower, elardus park, or menlo park ... tell me :) Cause theire so damn close I could throw them with rocks [}:)] hehe.

When theyre up, I should have good signal.

[Sliver]

can you use any form of antenna to boost your signal strength, or does it have to be capable of a certain frequency, if so what frequency ? I have a few atenna's lieing around here, including some huge 26dbi beasts that look like satelite dishes, if these are ok i'll test it out sometime.

[TrXtR]

Well, I'm no pro(Asm) or anything,
but my understanding is it should support 2.5ghz ? or something like that. So yes certain frequency,check the other place (dont know name) that sells antenna's to get an Idea fo the frequency, but before you read this, someone probably allready gave it to you :)

I hope those work :)

[ProAsm]

Hey flash, how about one of those pigtails.
I now have a proper patch antenna 12 dBi (wrong connector) I also have a 15 dBi yagi (wrong connector) and a Dish (20 dBi) (wrong connector) [;)]

[Sliver]

Well, you can get the correct connectors from www.webb.co.za, they are the MMCX connectors if i am not mistaken. I have a 28dbi directional dish and a 16dbi omni directional that are at my disposal. My current signal downstairs is sitting at about 15%, upstairs i am getting 25%. Hopefuly with an antenna positioned on my roof i will be able to achieve close to 50% and start getting decent low and stable pings, my pings at the moment are way below what i would consider acceptable which is causing my vpn connections using pptp to time out.

[Triune]

Hey Sliver.

I had a lot of trouble getting my VPN connections to work. It turned out to be packet fragmentation (probably in conjunction with high pings) that made my connections time out.

See the following post for details on how I got it sorted out. It might work for you too.
http://www.myadsl.co.za/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1857


.--- . ... ..- ... / .-.. --- ...- . ... / -.-- --- ..-
Ro:10:9 - If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord", and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

[flashvc]

Pro, what connector do your antennas have at the other end? N-Type?

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[Sliver]

Wheres a decent place to get cable and what size cable do i need, i wanna get this aerial up asap and see what kind of perfromance increases i get. Also, can someone recomend what type of aerial i should go for.

[Swifty]

What is maximum length for cable before signal starts to degrade again?

[ProAsm]

Cable loss depends on the cable you use.
Cable to use is any double screen 50 ohm coax, RG214 being the most common provided its a mil spec and not something made in Hinghongho. [:D]
Half inch celflex is the better way to go but is expensive and so are the connectors.
The is a special 5/8 microwave cable we use on the towers but thats eina expensive.

Regarding how long your cable can be - well first make a 3 meter cable and lug your Laptop or PC around to find the best spot, take a reading and decide how much signal you are prepared to loose on distance.

Flash, yes the antenna have N-Type females and one has a BNC.
Cables I have plenty of and also N males etc.
A friend of ours at Web is going around to see my friend a Fastcomm tomorrow with a whole pile of assorted connectors to see what fits the modem as it seems like a female SMCX (SubMiniture).
Today we opened a modem and I see the little side antenna just also plugs into the modem with a standard MMCX.

My antenna collection is growing somewhat.
Today I aquired another 2 very nice 25 dB gain panels and tommorow I'm getting a 28 dB grid.
We also took a standard 2.4 gig panel antenna and swept it on a analyzer and at 2.5 gig it still showed a return loss of better than -18 dB which makes it pretty good for MyWireless and from what I gather these normally run out at about R250 and offers a good 15 dB gain [;)]

[Sliver]

I did a little phoning aroung today and apparntly the connection on the modem is not a standard connection, i have chatted to Webb Industries and they are in the process of having these connectors manufactured and should be ready in 2-3 weeks.

[TrXtR]

Most interisting thing. There's another place, not fastcomm, that has been mentioned here that sells antenna's (inc installation).

I talked to them about getting a patch, and they said they arent doing it at the moment, for some reason, they want sentech to transfer the contracts to them, before they would do it. Apparently they loose out? What dont they charge for the antenna or something?

It's very od. There is no chance in hell I'm transferring my contract to some strange company that has business trouble, I'd rather wait for fastcomm.

IF I move my contract, support would be horrible, phone them to tell the other guy that ... broken telephone, lovely.

Anyone else no enything about this idiocy ?

[TheRoDent]

Sliver my bro. Wassup?

[flashvc]

Pro: Yep...it's not mmcx on the outside. Had my friend over here today, i can get a decent signal (4 lights) on the roof and in one of the rooms, and I get 2 lights when the modem sits on my monitor.
But since the connector isn't MMCX, I couldn't test with my 2.4 antennas, since all my pigtails are either N-Type - SMA or N-Type - MMCX.
You say inside in connects to MMCX? I'd rather not open my friend's modem [;)]

But yeah..tested MyWireless, and it works well..so I'm faxing through my application form NOW [:D]

I have a schematic for a parabolic reflector, which will work a little better than your Tray idea [;)]

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[Sliver]

Hey hey rodent, i must chat to you sometime about getting the linux side of things working, you got your ethernet pig tail yet ?

[Sliver]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ProAsm</i>
<br />
Flash, yes the antenna have N-Type females and one has a BNC.
Cables I have plenty of and also N males etc.
A friend of ours at Web is going around to see my friend a Fastcomm tomorrow with a whole pile of assorted connectors to see what fits the modem as it seems like a female SMCX (SubMiniture).
Today we opened a modem and I see the little side antenna just also plugs into the modem with a standard MMCX.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Please let me know how you get on with this, i really need to get an antenna on this and see how the signal is boosted, i'll try the pringle tin idea for now, hopefuly it will give me decent boosts. What is the max length of usb extensions you can use ?

[Sliver]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by flashvc</i>
<br />Cool, that looks the same as the connector on the Lucent Orinoco cards [:)]

My friend received his modem on Friday, but he went down to Durban for the weekend, will test the theory Monday [:D]

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<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Has anyone managed to test this yet ?

[ProAsm]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">What is the max length of usb extensions you can use ?<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">5 meters I think but you can series them with a small USB "hub" which also boosts the signal as it goes, so how many 5 meter lengths you can have is experimental.

Ok, you were right, Webb dont have the connector but they did have 2 MMCX connectors which I grabbed and they are on the way down so hopefully by Tuesday I will have some antenna reports as I have quite a collection now [:)]

[AcidRaZor]

i'm lazy, after testing i'll buy the antenna from you ProAsm, name your price

ciao

[Sliver]

Chatted to fastcomm today, they will be selling the connectors seperately as well, they will have them ready around the 18th of March, from what i've heard this is a very hard to get hold of connector, not completely proprietory to the mywireless/axcera modem but very hard to source.

[ProAsm]

The only part that worries me a bit is that the current little antenna cannot fold down while the USB is connected and we found by making a makeshift connector there was no real noticeable gain when plugging a 20 dB antenna into the socket, but by removing the little antenna and using the MMCX connector (also makeshift) suddenly everything sprung into life.
Time will tell once we have all the right connectors and stuff.

[vangend]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ProAsm</i>
<br />The only part that worries me a bit is that the current little antenna cannot fold down while the USB is connected and we found by making a makeshift connector there was no real noticeable gain when plugging a 20 dB antenna into the socket, but by removing the little antenna and using the MMCX connector (also makeshift) suddenly everything sprung into life.
Time will tell once we have all the right connectors and stuff.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I noticed the same thing, I thought maybe it is the make shift connector I used. I am going to remove the antenna later and try again.

[Sliver]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by vangend</i>
<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ProAsm</i>
<br />The only part that worries me a bit is that the current little antenna cannot fold down while the USB is connected and we found by making a makeshift connector there was no real noticeable gain when plugging a 20 dB antenna into the socket, but by removing the little antenna and using the MMCX connector (also makeshift) suddenly everything sprung into life.
Time will tell once we have all the right connectors and stuff.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">


I noticed the same thing, I thought maybe it is the make shift connector I used. I am going to remove the antenna later and try again.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Is the antenna easy to remove or do i risk damaging the modem ??

[ProAsm]

I'd suggest waiting for the correct connectors from Fastcomm.
Removing the little antenna is no problem but getting it back is another story [:D]

Looking at the connector on the modem antenna I see a little hole which I think when using the proper connector it will disable the modem antenna.


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http://www.unrealza.co.za/proasm/mywireless.html
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[TadMadLad]

Proasm, you dont by any chance know when the fastcom for poynting antennas will be done.

[DarkHelmet]

I just spoke to Poynting - 2 weeks until Fastcomm gets em... Fastcomm said to me a few hours ago by the 18th...

[TadMadLad]

Ok, then another 16 days to go.

I would have been looking at my modem search for signal for close to 50 days.
AND I AM STILL POSSITIVE.

Cant wait for my connection, but guess i dont have much of a choice.

[bradleyzorg]

i havnt worked with the sentech wi-fi modems yet, but i do know abit about wi-fi technology.

be carefull wen chosing cable types..
1. LMR-195
2. LMR-400

LMR-400 is the best.

now... db = signal strength the more db you have the more signal you have (duh).
for every 3 meters of LMR-195 there is about 1db loss. and about 0.4 for LMR-400.the connectors also cause loss about 0.15db each

at the end of the day what you have is this pissy little patch (never mind the small airial on the modem) of about 8db with a cheap cable causing huge db loss.ull endup with a **** signal, **** download speeds.

if i were you guys i would wack up a server in the house close to the roof with a external antenna using 1 pigtail one 3M cable and 20 dBI Yagi Antenna mounted to a pole that is fixed to a WALL that doesnt blow in the wind.

have fun [B)]

[GougedEye]

Total agreement. I myself will notget the Patch Antenna, but rather their bigger wallmounted antenna. Still have to wait a while as they don't have connectors or something.

But then my signal is sitting around the 8% mark so I need all the help I can get.

P.S. Anyone know where else I can get some sort of antenna, it would be much appreciated. [:)]

[ProAsm]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">But then my signal is sitting around the 8% mark so I need all the help I can get.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">You need the Antenna link in my signature [:D]


<hr noshade size="1"><center>http://www.unrealza.co.za/proasm/mywireless.html</center>

[Spikes]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by bradleyzorg</i>
<br />i havnt worked with the sentech wi-fi modems yet, but i do know abit about wi-fi technology.

be carefull wen chosing cable types..
1. LMR-195
2. LMR-400

LMR-400 is the best.

now... db = signal strength the more db you have the more signal you have (duh).
for every 3 meters of LMR-195 there is about 1db loss. and about 0.4 for LMR-400.the connectors also cause loss about 0.15db each

at the end of the day what you have is this pissy little patch (never mind the small airial on the modem) of about 8db with a cheap cable causing huge db loss.ull endup with a **** signal, **** download speeds.

if i were you guys i would wack up a server in the house close to the roof with a external antenna using 1 pigtail one 3M cable and 20 dBI Yagi Antenna mounted to a pole that is fixed to a WALL that doesnt blow in the wind.

have fun [B)]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Correct me if im wrong, but isnt this thing 3G and not Wi-Fi?

A clear conscience is a sign of bad memory!

[Rhino]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">GougedEye Posted - 03/02/2004 : 14:35:41
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Total agreement. I myself will notget the Patch Antenna, but rather their bigger wallmounted antenna. Still have to wait a while as they don't have connectors or something.

But then my signal is sitting around the 8% mark so I need all the help I can get.

P.S. Anyone know where else I can get some sort of antenna, it would be much appreciated.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Call Drive Control in JHB 0118878927 or dbn cpt etc. Ask them who sells their antenna's and then call them, We always have them in stock. From directional sidhes to mini patches and Omni's.

[Rhino]

You MUST just make sure u request the correct connector!!!!

[Dr4k]

hey

Are the patch antennas worth it ? cause they say they got a gain of 13dbi which aint that great :P, say i get 25% signal now and i put a patch up will i get above like 55% ? [:p]

Dr4k out

[ProAsm]

Just remember the patch antenna is not going to go where you modem currently is, probably find a spot that your modem gets say 30% or more, then in that case you should achieve 50% odd with 13 dBi minus the cable loss.



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[ajax]

Mounting the patch antenna outdoors will increase your signal strength compared to indoors as the signal does not have to come thru the structure of your building which attenuates the signal. If your walls are thick and you have burglar bars on your windows the improvement outdoors will be significant. (It is similar to the case when you have maybe 1 bar of reception on your cell phone indoors. When you go outside often you can get maximum bars). Add then the gain of the patch antenna minus a few dB of cable loss (yes keep the cable as short as possible, its worth investing extra once off for a good cable and enjoying the better signal for years) and your signal should improve drastically. If there is a big cost difference between the patch antenna and other higher gain antennas I'd try the patch antenna first.

Ajax

[flashvc]

By just using the wall outside the house as a reflector, I was able to jump from 2 - 4 lights.

As soon as I recieve my own modem, I'm gonna make a parabolic reflector for the modem, which should give quite a nice signal boost, and will cost nothing to make [:)]

If you have a parabolic antenna (dish or grid), but you don't have a connector that fits in the modem, then just take out the LNB, and put the modem where the LNB was, you'll be amazed at the boost you can get [:D]

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[ajax]

I haven't done that myself, but it should work. For those interested, the gain in dB of a typical 60 cm DSTV dish at 2.4 GHz is around 20 dB. The 90 cm ones have about 5dB more. The LNB's are usually directive antennas (horn antennas) that only "look" back at the dish, but if you put the modem with its omnidirectional antenna in place of the LNB it should give you a much better signal!

Should be an interesting experiment, I'd sacrifice my DSTV anytime!

Ajax

[gripen]

With these lights and signal strength spoken of all the time on the forums, does it mean signal from the modem to the tower?

I mean you can be 10km from the tower and GET good signal but that helps nothing..

Are you guys speaking of signal TO the tower from the modem?

[flashvc]

Ajax, I just received "The Call". My modem is ready and waiting at home [:D]

Will give feedback on the theory soon

Now I wanna ho home [:(]

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[ajax]

Flashvc,

Just remember your DSTV dish has to point very accurately to the satellite. They normally recommend using a professional technician to install them, so if you are gonna turn the dish to a Sentech tower, you might have difficulty getting your original DSTV signal back. Maybe check your signal on your DSTV decoder (under advanced settings, pin code 9949) before you mess around with your dish. Afterwards you will at least know what signal you had on DSTV so that you can perhaps try and align the dish back to the satellite yourself.
See if you can borrow one from a Multichoice agent, rather.

But hey, if you are desperate...
I was once quite desperate to "hack" my cell phone, so I desoldered one of the surface mount chips and reprogrammed it myself! [}:)]

Desperate times calls for desperate measures! [:)]

Ajax

[flashvc]

hehe, nah..not touching the DSTV dish, but it's easy to realign it anyways.
I've got a 24dbi 802.11b grid antenna that's sitting there gathering dust atm, just gonna use the grid

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[Warrior]

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html

Theres a link that might help the poorer wireless users.

[:D]

[sneaky]

[:p]wanna build my own as well, but im still BIG n00b as far as all this is concerned. From what I have read so far, I know what cable to buy what connector to use with the can but from what I gather we are still waiting for connectors to the MyWireless modem to arrive at fastcomm.

This true? or is there an alternative out we can use?

[Dr4k]

hey

im not to sure about any other alternatives but the connecters that you should use are comming out on the 18 March (so fastcomm say). i really want a antenna hehehe

Dr4k out

[ajax]

Flashvc,

Anything to report??

Ajax

[flashvc]

ajax, not yet. The antenna is in the ceiling atm (storage) will get it out probably this weekend.
Been so busy dling stuff [:D]

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[DarkHelmet]

Does anyone have a decent antenna sitting around and willing to charge me to pop to Jukskei Park (Olivedale) with it to come see if i get signal at all?

According to the Sentech site I am supposed to have partial coverage - my neighbour across the road has GOOD - not picking up any signal anywhere :[:(]

Even if I get in my car and drive 2 blocks further I don't get any signal [:(]

I walked all over my garden with the notebook and ProASM's mysignal application - not a sniff of anything

Works brilliantly at the office in Craighall - but I did not get it for the office!

Sentech call centre can give me no info on what tower I am supposed to be using, I saw in other posts a mention of Bryanston CC? That will probably end up being my tower (if it is live - I hold thumbs that it is not!)

I REALLY REALLY want this modem to work here

Please contact me if you can provide any assistance

DH
ian@pimpano.co.za

[flashvc]

Have you tried Proasm's Tea Tray idea?
I think Olivedale should connect to Randburg, cause Sentech Fourways is too far from there. Try using a tray and reflect the signal towards Randburg.

Once I've tested the parabolic reflector idea, I'll post my results here.

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[beerygaz]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by DarkHelmet</i>
<br />Does anyone have a decent antenna sitting around and willing to charge me to pop to Jukskei Park (Olivedale) with it to come see if i get signal at all?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I'm in Olivedale, near Sharonlea (opp PO Boxes) and I get 3 or 4 LED's of signal on my windowsill. Hooked up ProASM's app the other day and was only showing 14% signal though.

Roll on the antennae!

[DarkHelmet]

I have tried the tray, a big metal bowl, I have been on top of my roof with the modem and a notebook!!!

Will be getting a DSTV dish off a friend this evening and I will "aim" it in the general direction of Randburg. I have more or less an idea of the angle how to point the dish, just not exactly where to point it at!

[sneaky]

hehe think everybody here is waiting for the antenna, Is there any site on the net we can check where the nearest tower is so we can check in what direction to actually point it when we get/build it?

Must think happy thoughts about the antenna then it can not fail!

[DarkHelmet]

[quote
Must think happy thoughts about the antenna then it can not fail!
[/quote]

HAPPY THOUGHTS
HAPPY THOUGHTS

[DarkHelmet]

<br /><blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
Must think happy thoughts about the antenna then it can not fail!
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HAPPY THOUGHTS
HAPPY THOUGHTS

ProASM - any news on the Bryanston CC tower? I hope this will solve my lack of signal.

[martin]

You realise ofcourse that happy thoughts alone won't do it.
(In my best hippie voice) "You need to cleanse your aura... harness good and block bad... must project low ping times... think low ping times... now exhale..." [:D]

[Inkblot]

Greeting Earthlings.

Since everybody's talking about pointing towards the "Randburg Tower" I might throw in my 2 cents worth...

According to ProASM's list of towers (http://www.unrealza.co.za/proasm/wireless/towers.html)
number 12 (one of three) is at the "Council Mineral Tech". I've done a bit of research and believe that the tower has to be on top of the Mintek building (obviously - Council for Mineral Technology next to the Randburg Testing Station, near the corners of Hans Strijdom and Hill... almost opposite Virgin Active).[8D]

For those of you who'd like to measure the distance from your location to the tower - Do a suburb search for "Malanshof" on
Sentech's Broadband Zone locator site. The tower should be in the vicinity of the blue star next to the words "Randburg Testing Station".

I happen to be just over a kilometer away... with a constant 26% signal strength.[:D]

Considering climbing onto my roof with my notebook to try true line of sight... thunderstorm brewing though... maybe another day. *Grin*

[DarkHelmet]

All I want to know is if tower 116 (Bryanston CC) is active

I hope it is still offline, else i am a bit skrewt!

I am sort of in the middle from Fourways(Sentech HQ), Mintek and tower 116

[ProAsm]

Regarding the progress on towers outside my region (KZN) I really cannot help and best to contact someone locally on that issue.


<hr noshade size="1"><center>http://www.unrealza.co.za/proasm/mywireless.html</center>

[Inkblot]

Stuck my modem against a window as high as the power & data cables would allow facing the Mintek building. Placed a huge metal pan (the drip tray from my oven [;)]) right behind it. (It's now balancing precariously on a burglar bar almost above my head!). My signal improved to a constant 33% with -75db (Without the metal pan I only get 31%).

My first question... do I feel lucky? Well... do I? What's the general opinion on the effectiveness of the suction cups? (Wouldn't like my preciousssss to come tumbling down from up there.)

My second question is actually more of a "What if scenario" related to the topic. I want fasten a directional antenna to my existing TV antenna / DSTV decoder dish... but as mentioned in my earlier post... I'm a bit concerned with lightning. (My brandnew laser fax machine got zapped a couple of days ago.) So to get to the question... with a 56kb normal modem / phone line it is possible to earth the line / use surge protectors / ups etc. How can I protect my Sentech modem from lightning while using the patch antenna? Earth it somehow? Wouldn't want to end up looking like this [|)]

[ProAsm]

Well firstly those suction cups are pretty cool, well they better be as next week they will hold a modem on the roof of a vehcile while driving around testing [:D]
Secondly tie a piece of string around the modem and attach it somewhere just incase.

Regarding the antenna, here you have no choice but to remove it when you are not around or try putting the antenna in the ceiling if you have one.


<hr noshade size="1"><center>http://www.unrealza.co.za/proasm/mywireless.html</center>

[DarkHelmet]

Thanks ProASM - I did not know you were in KZN... Thanks for you input here!